Ask Dayton 33 – Drop-kickin’ Gorns, Klingons, and Romulans

Dear Dayton: Has anyone ever asked you to write a storyline or script for a Star Trek video game? If so, which one, and if not what would you like to see created and why?

Nope, never been asked. Of course, I don’t think it’s the sort of thing you just get asked to do. I’m guessing…well, I’m hoping…that someone has to demonstrate an aptitude for such things before actually being approached about doing it, particularly when there’s money involved. Then again, somebody paid Snooki to “write” a book, so what the hell do I know?

But, I’m wandering off the path a bit….

Anyway, game writing, like writing for comics or movie/TV or novels, has its own unique demands. There are different skill sets involved when writing for these mediums, and just because you might be good at one doesn’t necessarily mean you can make the transition to any of the others.

I’m not saying I’m a game script writer, but I figure I’m at least good enough to collaborate with someone who knows what they’re doing in that realm, right? I like to think I can bang out a decent Star Trek story now and then, and I know what I like when it comes to games. Let me join forces with someone who’s got it going on in the game arena, and I’m betting we could knock it out of the park. I’ll put on my big-boy storytelling pants, and I’ll take whatever I can learn from my would-be partner, and ours would be an epic team-up for the ages!

Well, it sounds good in theory, anyway.

As for what I’d like to see created for a Star Trek game? For me, Trek’s always been about the characters first, and the ships and hardware second. Still, I loves me some good shootin’ and blowin’ up shit in my gaming. Can a Star Trek game maintain a balance between these two elements? I’d like to think so. Games like Star Trek: 25th Anniversary and its sequel, Judgment Rites—now ancient relics in the game pantheon—managed to give us engaging puzzles and mysteries to be solved along with no small amount of action and adventure, around and through which were woven stories in the best Star Trek tradition. They were like little extra episodes from the original series, made all the more sweet by Shatner and the gang providing spoken dialogue for their characters.

A more recent offering, though it’s still pretty old by gaming standards—Elite Force—managed to fuse a pretty solid Trek story to a first-person shooter game, this time using the cast of Star Trek: Voyager. I didn’t enjoy its sequel quite so much, but it’s still a pretty decent game in its own right. A game currently in development and tying into the new Trek movies at least looks like it might be similar in approach to these games. If that’s the case, then I’m gonna be all over that thing like Terry on boots or beards.

And what would I do if I were given the opportunity to develop the story for a Trek game? Hard to say. I’d probably lean toward something centering around Kirk and the gang, or at least that era of “Trek history,” as most folks know the 23rd century has always been my favorite. Would I want to write a good ol’ rip-roaring adventure set during the five-year mission, with the Enterprise flying to all sorts of wicked planets or running into weird shit here and there, and Kirk puttin’ some moves on sexy alien chicks and drop-kickin’ Gorns, Klingons, and Romulans? Oh my!

For that matter and since we’re here: would something like Star Trek: Vanguard translate to a gaming platform? Is there enough story there to drive a good, multi-faceted game which revolves around strong characters yet also provides ample opportunity for some of that aforementioned good, old-fashioned shootin’ and blowin’ shit up?

I don’t know, but…….

Well, that’s just great. Now this is what I’ll be thinking about all day.

Mike Medeiros is a great storyteller in his own mind. He’s been known to put words to page and sometimes, he even turns them into audio stories for himself, his friends and the occasional stranger that stumbles upon his stuff by accident. He has written, writes, and will write for Gates of Sto’vo’kor, Blood of the Neirrh, Star Trek: Starfinder, The Klingons of Long Island, Reality’s Edge, and Zygerus. Some of his stories and other writings have materialized on websites and forums for the G & T Show, Priority One, ScienceFiction.com, Star Trek Online, and even Star Trek.com. He’s written a few playable missions for Star Trek Online and has even had a couple of them spotlighted. He keeps saying he’s working on a novel, but is he really? A comic book is more likely. If only he could make money flinging ink at the screen, he’d be a happy camper.

But, wait. There’s more.

He is the co-owner of Busy Little Beaver Productions and is the producer and co-host for G & T Show and Gates of Sto’vo’kor. He’s directed voice actors, and produced and edited audio podcasts and dramas because he doesn’t have the face for video. He plays well with others and is always on the look out for the next project, the next thing, the next next. If he wasn’t working on something with a half dozen other projects waiting in the wings, somebody please check to make sure he’s still breathing.

During the day, he’s a mild-mannered computer repair man who dabbles in web design in his small, rural, Central California community. He lives with his lovingly dysfunctional family and loyal canine companion and spends most of his time in the closet concocting some hair-brained scheme or another. He’s got an unhealthy obsession with Lego video games, Klingons, and Star Trek Online that borders on the neurotic.

Despite all this, he still finds the time to write the words. Find out what he's doing here.

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Michael Medeiros

Mike Medeiros is a great storyteller in his own mind. He’s been known to put words to page and sometimes, he even turns them into audio stories for himself, his friends and the occasional stranger that stumbles upon his stuff by accident. He has written, writes, and will write for Gates of Sto’vo’kor, Blood of the Neirrh, Star Trek: Starfinder, The Klingons of Long Island, Reality’s Edge, and Zygerus. Some of his stories and other writings have materialized on websites and forums for the G & T Show, Priority One, ScienceFiction.com, Star Trek Online, and even Star Trek.com. He’s written a few playable missions for Star Trek Online and has even had a couple of them spotlighted. He keeps saying he’s working on a novel, but is he really? A comic book is more likely. If only he could make money flinging ink at the screen, he’d be a happy camper.
But, wait. There’s more.
He is the co-owner of Busy Little Beaver Productions and is the producer and co-host for G & T Show and Gates of Sto’vo’kor. He’s directed voice actors, and produced and edited audio podcasts and dramas because he doesn’t have the face for video. He plays well with others and is always on the look out for the next project, the next thing, the next next. If he wasn’t working on something with a half dozen other projects waiting in the wings, somebody please check to make sure he’s still breathing.
During the day, he’s a mild-mannered computer repair man who dabbles in web design in his small, rural, Central California community. He lives with his lovingly dysfunctional family and loyal canine companion and spends most of his time in the closet concocting some hair-brained scheme or another. He’s got an unhealthy obsession with Lego video games, Klingons, and Star Trek Online that borders on the neurotic.
Despite all this, he still finds the time to write the words. Find out what he's doing here.